From 1983: I had the great honor of interviewing Sir George for the St. Petersburg Times on Oct. 14, 1983. I knew he was a great pianist because I listened to his albums; I learned he was a great gentleman when he treated me with kid gloves as I awkwardly and ignorantly asked him questions for more than 30 minutes. I was barely 18 months out of college and knew very little about jazz. But George was great. He was, for all intents and purposes, the pale, British version of Ray Charles.